Rosie is Baking Mini (Gluten Free) Key Lime Meringue Pies

Hi Internet.This is Rosie, Jack’s (gluten free) sister. I don’t do a lot of cooking. I prefer to bake. So we can call today’s blog “Rosie is baking”.When we lived in Bermuda we would always have a lemon meringue pie for dessert on Christmas day. This year we decided to reinstate the tradition but twist it around a little. I’ve always liked key lime pie better than lemon because it is slightly tarter and less sweet. But you can throw meringue on anything. So I started with a graham cracker crust. I managed to find gluten free graham crackers but I have only seen these at one store. (If you can’t find these you can make a delicious tart crust out of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, butter and a little sugar.)Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:1 package gluten free graham crackers3 tbsp butter1/4 cup sugar1/2 cup key lime juice14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk3 eggs1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the crust:Smash all the graham crackers into a fine crumble.Add three tablespoons of softened butter and a quarter cup of sugar and mix it all up into a crumbly sticky mixture. It won’t be solid at all, you have to press it into the bottom of the pie pan (or muffin and mini-muffin pans if you’re making minis).Refrigerate crust for at least an hour. (If you make the crust without graham crackers you will need to bake them off for about 5-7 minutes or until they are slightly golden).

For the delicious key lime filling:You need half a cup of key lime juice. I’ve used fresh key limes and juice from a bottle and honestly it doesn’t make that much of a difference. And fresh key limes are tiny and take a long time to squeeze half a cup out of. But, make sure it’s key lime juice and not plain lime, they taste really different.Mix the key lime juice with the can of sweetened condensed milk and the yolks of the three eggs. Save the whites for the meringue.Mix it all together until it’s smooth and creamy. I usually taste a tiny bit to make there’s enough lime.Pour this mixture into the mini crusts.

For the meringues:Whip the egg whites you have left over until they are starting to get firm, then begin to slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat until stiff. I didn’t really beat mine long enough and I used granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar so they weren’t really stiff enough. Oh well, next time. They still tasted delicious.

I scooped the meringue into a zip-loc bag and snipped one corner off. Then it sort of acts as a piping bag and you can squeeze little dollops onto the minis and sort of a circular swirl on the bigger ones.

Put them in the oven for about ten minutes until the meringues get golden on the top and the filling is slightly firmer. The meringue is the most important part because the filling does most of it’s hardening in the fridge so take it out as soon as the meringues have the right look.

I also made a few in regular muffin tins with red and green foil muffin cups for a little extra Christmas spirit.